'You're saving lives': Montgomery officers 'arm' with Narcan to stop opioid overdoses

Narcan, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, has become a staple in officers' tools — including in Montgomery.

Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham's officers began carrying Narcan about three years ago. Prior to that, officers carried an injectable medicine to stop opioid overdoses. This year, sheriff deputies have deployed Narcan four times in the field.

Montgomery police officers also carry Narcan, MPD Chief Darryl Albert said. He was unsure how many times his officers deployed the medication this year. “Narcan is a tool that police departments and police officers all around the country are arming themselves with to help individuals in trouble with narcotics," Albert said.

The main drug causing these overdoses is fentanyl, Cunningham said. Once people receive Narcan, officers encourage them to go to the hospital. The sheriff said they almost always refuse.

Cunningham said he does not instruct deputies to take people who have overdosed to jail.

“I wouldn’t want to put them in jail knowing I just brought them back to life," he said. "That’s too big a liability. I’d rather you go to the hospital."

Carrying Narcan is becoming more common even for people outside of law enforcement. Cunningham said he is starting to see people keeping Narcan handy in schools and other places where there are large numbers of people.

“This is all about public safety altogether," Cunningham said. "You’re saving lives — either in school, you could be in a restaurant now. You know you’re going to start seeing Narcan just about everywhere where you have a big influx of people."

He said people need to avoid buying street drugs, which could be laced with fentanyl, and some are just getting high on fentanyl itself.

“You’ve got to be careful now buying drugs on the street," Cunningham said. He later added, “Don’t take nothing, don’t buy nothing that you’re getting off the street."

Lauren Wilder, the director of substance abuse services at Carastar Health, agreed. She said that fentanyl is several hundred times stronger than morphine, and all sorts of drugs are laced with it. In her line of work, she sees people using marijuana and crack the most.

At Carastar, Wilder and Executive Director Donna Leslie often help people who are using drugs to self-medicate for mental health disorders.

From 2006 to 2014, overdoses in Alabama grew 82%, Leslie said.

Albert said that Montgomery is no different from any other city, big or small. People struggle with narcotics here just like they do anywhere else.

“The reality of it is there’s narcotics everywhere," he said. Officers routinely see cocaine, crack, marijuana and fentanyl on the street.

With the help of the community, police officers are seizing more drugs and illegal guns, both of which Albert said cause violence in Montgomery. “That’s important to have the community tied in with us," he said.

The chief also said he and his officers do their best to quell the number of drugs and illegal guns in the city.

“We understand that drugs and guns are really the catalyst for violence in the community," Albert said.

He said education surrounding substance abuse needs to begin in the home. He encouraged families to reach out to the city for help with resources to teach their kids about drug use.

Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or 479-926-9570.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Narcan a staple for Montgomery officers amid opioid overdoses